My father recently described this phenomenon to me as, "buying one's lifestyle." I'd never heard the phrase before but I think it perfectly describes what so many of us do in urban areas once we've established a foothold financially.
I have actually done all the things you list living in Brooklyn, NY over the past seven years. But it hasn't come easy. I grew the vegetables at a community garden, which took years for me to get into. I had to work on the motorcycle in the alley way of my building, which due to recent crime increases in the area is now untenable. I cook and cure my own meats on occasion but due to the high costs associated with getting good meat, the tiny kitchen I have to work with, and the vegan next-door neighbors who roll their eyes at me any time they smell a steak cooking, I obviously don't do it as much as I'd like.
The value of the city for me, as someone who both grew up here and then returned after school to pursue work, has been all of the metropolitan values: living so near so many interesting, distinct, and different kinds of people. I work in tech and media but I really tend to enjoy the company of those who work in other fields - I enjoyed the diversity of interests, talents, and values here in NYC. But every place has a point where things become too oppressive and expensive to yield any further cultural benefits - and we clearly hit that mark here even before quarantine.
Now, with quarantine in effect, the one thing I really cherished and held onto over the years - being near people - has become a major detractor living in NYC. Without a magnificent amount of reversals, I will be looking to buy property in a state where I am not paying an entire paycheck in taxes to my city government.
I have actually done all the things you list living in Brooklyn, NY over the past seven years. But it hasn't come easy. I grew the vegetables at a community garden, which took years for me to get into. I had to work on the motorcycle in the alley way of my building, which due to recent crime increases in the area is now untenable. I cook and cure my own meats on occasion but due to the high costs associated with getting good meat, the tiny kitchen I have to work with, and the vegan next-door neighbors who roll their eyes at me any time they smell a steak cooking, I obviously don't do it as much as I'd like.
The value of the city for me, as someone who both grew up here and then returned after school to pursue work, has been all of the metropolitan values: living so near so many interesting, distinct, and different kinds of people. I work in tech and media but I really tend to enjoy the company of those who work in other fields - I enjoyed the diversity of interests, talents, and values here in NYC. But every place has a point where things become too oppressive and expensive to yield any further cultural benefits - and we clearly hit that mark here even before quarantine.
Now, with quarantine in effect, the one thing I really cherished and held onto over the years - being near people - has become a major detractor living in NYC. Without a magnificent amount of reversals, I will be looking to buy property in a state where I am not paying an entire paycheck in taxes to my city government.